


They are the Lanterns and You are the Light

by GloriaMundi



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: Dialogue-Only, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-16
Updated: 2010-12-16
Packaged: 2017-10-13 17:02:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/139586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaMundi/pseuds/GloriaMundi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An alternate interpretation, in ten one-sided conversations. Title from <i>Antichrist Television Blues</i>, Arcade Fire</p>
            </blockquote>





	They are the Lanterns and You are the Light

"May I speak to Arthur? ... It's Miles. ... Yes. Yes, I'm ... we're dealing with it. One day at a time. ... We need to talk about Dominic. No -- no, hear me out. I believe him: I believe you. He loved Mal. He would never have ... No. That's right. No. He needs help, Arthur. He's not letting go. He's not moving on. He's spending too much time in dreams, and it's dangerous. I need him to come back to reality. The children need ... That's true. But if he can begin to accept that she's dead, that she wasn't herself, then maybe together we can address the legal issues. ... As a matter of fact I do have some ideas about how we can convince him. Yes, Arthur: yes, I suppose it _is_ an intervention. But I believe it's what my daughter would have wanted."

* * *

"Arthur! It's Eames, returning your call: how delightful to hear from you. Let me guess: you've been re-evaluating the situation, and you've realised that you actually do want -- You can hardly blame me for enquiring, can you? ... So what did you want to talk about? ... Of course I heard. Did he -- Arthur, I know you and Cobb've been friends for a long time, but --. Fair enough. Not surprising, really, is it? Your wife commits suicide and tries to pin the blame on you, you're bound to have some issues. ... So let me get this straight: you want to put an idea in his head, but you don't believe inception's possible... Okay, it's not exactly inception. You're not trying to make him believe something that isn't true. You're just trying to get him to come to terms with something that _is_. -- Right. So where do I come in? ... For you, Arthur, anyone. I can be anyone."

* * *

"I assume you phoned to apologise, Eames. I can't believe you-- you kneecapped me, you asshole. And don't even try to tell me that was Cobb's projection of Mal. -- No, I'm not saying you weren't convincing. You had Cobb convinced: that's all that matters. Did you -- Yes. When we were talking about 'Mal is not my anchor, I can't depend on her', I didn't realise you were going to be so literal. Shame your timer didn't go off a bit sooner, he'd've -- Of course he didn't want to talk. This is Cobb: he doesn't even open up to himself. But I'd say it shook him up ...Thank you, Mr Eames. Yes, that was a Bacon on the wall: good of you to notice. ... Fishing for compliments? I already told you, you convinced Cobb. That's all that matters. The perfume was a nice touch, by the way."

* * *

"Professor Miles? It's Ariadne, who -- yes. Yes, thank you. ... No, it is not going well! Your friend Cobb's got a hell of a subconscious on him, and -- his subconscious stabbed me. I died. In the dream. I _died_. How is that all right? ... There's another man there, Arthur. I don't know his last name. Yes, he seems -- Professor, don't you think you should have told me? The woman who stabbed me, the woman in Cobb's subconscious: she seemed familiar, but there's no way I could know her, right? Because those were his projections, they weren't real? But I did recognise her. ... She's the woman in the photo on your desk. ... I -- I'm sorry. But I don't -- I'm sorry, Professor. ... Yes. ... Yes. Do you think -- d'you think I should go back?"

* * *

"Arthur, won't you give me some credit for once? Ariadne's perfectly all right. I stabbed her in the dream, not in reality. And it's never too early to learn that -- Right. ... I was watching, you know. Before all the projections turned on her and I could go in with the knife. ... No, I don't think it was unreasonable. I'm playing her as a jealous bitch, and -- I know the real Mal wasn't. But _Cobb_ 's jealous. And Ariadne -- Listen to me. I saw Mal. I saw Cobb's projection of her. ... Arthur, they were happy. It's going to take a lot to shake that memory, to make him stop dreaming about her: just making her into a monster isn't ... We need a different approach. A simpler idea ... No, I'm heading back to Mombasa. There's a man who I think can be of assistance. And Cobb's going to cotton on, sooner or later, to needing a forger for the job: and I _am_ the -- So he's en route to Mombasa too? Thank you, Arthur. That's all I needed to know."

* * *

"This is Yusuf, hello? ... I hear you're in the market for a chemist, Mr Eames, and if you're in Mombasa I wondered if I might be of help. ... You have an interesting challenge, eh? Would you care -- yes, of course you may bring your colleague to visit me. Yes, I have heard of him: you believe he is innocent, yes? I -- of course not. Mr Eames, I realise that you are not in the business of trusting anybody except yourself, but I assure you that -- Disoriented? You put _what_ in his beer? Oh. Oh, yes: I see. It could certainly make him more receptive, though fifty milligrams of LSD is a generous dose. Yes, we can take him down to the cellar: there are only a few dreamers at present, but perhaps it would be helpful to bring in some, some dummies, yes? And we shall make him question whether he is dreaming or waking. Whether dreams are sometimes better than -- It will not be a problem, Mr Eames."

* * *

"Arthur? Eames: thought you'd like to be kept informed. Mombasa's lovely, though there's a bit of a vermin problem. We've messed Cobb around a bit, got him questioning his reality, then we took him under -- no, I wasn't in there, but I'd wager Mal was. I ... Yes, but I am _not_ going under as Mal again. No, hear me out before you ... There's something not right, Arthur: it's not just grief. There's something else going on in Cobb's head, and I'm not inclined to interfere without a better understanding of -- I know he can't go on like this. I know he's a liability. But he panicked, Arthur: he panicked when he wasn't sure if he was dreaming, he had his totem and -- no, Saito-san interrupted him before he could check. ... What I'm _saying_ is that we need to know how he's interacting with his own subconscious before we plant any more seeds. I -- sorry, I've got to go. We're about to get the pitch."

* * *

"Arthur, it's Ariadne. Yeah, I'm on my way to the airport, but -- No, it can't wait til we're on the plane. I have to tell you what Cobb's hiding ... He didn't tell me _not_ to tell you. ... I don't think he's going to tell you himself, no. But Arthur, before you got back -- I thought he was just running some tests again -- okay, yeah, I thought it was kind of strange that he kept going under on his own, so I followed him in. It's like he's built a, a prison of memories. Mal's down there like a caged animal, Arthur! And I know she's just a projection, but ... He _said_ they were memories, but he told me the other day that I should never -- Sure, do as Cobb says, not as he does. ... She's down there and he can't control her. He just keeps going under so he can relive their time together over and over, and it's not ... There's something he regrets, something he wants to change, and ... Arthur?"

* * *

"Eames? How's Sydney? What are you doing now Fischer Senior's out of the picture? ... Right. Cobb's doing a number on our little Architect ... no, of course I didn't follow them into the dream. I can't hide the way you can. But -- yes. But they were dreaming together -- Ariadne went after him -- and I have to tell you that Cobb's got his own version of Mal down there. Unless you've found a way to dream by remote -- Didn't think so. No, it's not good, Mr Eames; thank you for noting that point. ... I think he's trying to hold onto his memories of her, and she's ... well, no, it's not her: it's his subconscious -- yeah, his guilt. Ariadne called it a prison of memories, but I think it's -- Yeah. And maybe he's going to realise that the Mal he saw before isn't the same one he just paid a visit to. ... No, I don't have any suggestions. But the plan isn't working... Okay, it's not working _yet_."

* * *

"It's Arthur, Professor; just calling to let you know that I'll be out of the country on business for a while. Australia, then stateside. ... He's not doing too well. We've been taking the wrong approach, trying to convince him that he needs to let go of Mal. ... Yes, he does need to stop spending all his time in the dreamscape. But we're starting to think that it's not just simple grief. ... Professor, I'm not saying that he killed her. Cobb would never ... Yes. But is there anything, anything at all that you can think of, that Cobb might feel guilty about? ... What do you mean, this is what you were afraid of? I'm, we're all, about to go into multiple layers of dream with a man who's -- Yes, he _is_ the best extractor. Yes, if anyone can then ... So, Professor: can a man perform inception on himself?"

-end-

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to lmeden for constructive comments on an earlier version of this. If it doesn't make sense it's my fault!


End file.
